There’s a saying that goes “when everything is taken away, we see who we truly are” and I have been exposed as certified travel addict and enthusiast. The travel bug has me good. 
Chances are if you’re reading this column, you’ve got it too (or will soon). If you’re always dreaming of far-flung adventures, aching for a change of scenery or incessantly adding to your Bucket List, then I have some news for you: you are a travel addict, and there is no cure. 
Once you are infected with the travel bug, it never leaves your system. It only gets worse. Alas, you are not alone, the travel bug bit me at a young age and everything I do revolves around travel. 
Travel is always on my mind, and I’m constantly planning my next adventure and oh how I miss a good old fashioned road trip! Now I know there’s a lot going on right now. 
We’re still all digesting His Excellency’s most recent speech, which reintroduced stricter coronavirus restrictions following a surge in Covid-19 cases. 

Under the stricter measures, travel in and out of hotspot areas will be restricted to emergency situations and essential travel. The Namibian government also announced a dusk-to-dawn Covid-19 curfew in six local authorities, including the capital Windhoek, between 20h00 to 05h00 for a period of 16 days. Although travel is permitted within the rest of the country, I now find myself in an odd situation that has me legally confined to Windhoek which has me yearning for a road trip even more. What strange creatures we are. 
A self-drive road trip through Namibia is one of the greatest adventures you can ever have. It is the perfect way to see the country as the epic Namib landscape rolls out before your eyes. 
Hailing from the //Kharas region, born and bred, read on to discover two of my favourite places I’ve road tripped to in the south of Namibia. 
 
Quiver Tree Forest 
As an excursionist and keen domestic tourist, I implore you to make a point of visiting the Quiver Tree Forest and relish the remarkable sight of the hundreds of unusual looking trees. 
The sheer number and size of the distinctive forked aloes found among the jungle of massive dolerite boulders, is what makes this place so magical. 

Located about 14km north-east of Keetmanshoop in southern Namibia, this floral wonderland is home to romantic sunsets and offers an incredibly serene atmosphere. Fun facts: The trees grow in generations with the oldest trees here being between two to three centuries old. These trees have a long history of beliefs that they will bring good luck to anybody that worships them and nurtures them. 
This spectacular wonder was declared a National Monument of Namibia in 1995. 
 
Kolmanskop 
The surrealism of everything at Kolmanskop is something I’ll never get my head around. 
I cannot describe how bizarre it is to see a full-on desert inside a house and sand dunes blown two metres high, to the point where I had to shimmy under a door frame on my stomach in order to fit through. 
Here, I found myself immersed into an eerie atmosphere that has both grandeur and sadness. It got me thinking about the people who once lived here, how this was once their home and how some random loon of a travel blogger now scrambles up sand dunes in what was once their kitchen. 

Exploring the historical ghost town of Kolmanskop just 10km from Luderitz, is a photographic Mecca and remains one of Namibia’s most interesting attractions. 
A visit to Kolmanskop provides an eerie understanding of how the desert slowly but surely reclaims all that is built in it. 
The sand creeps into every space as if it was liquid and the result is an incredible historical sight.